JPH08227375A - Picture storage device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To make it possible to quickly output data to a recorder even in a picture storage device connected to an input device with a different speed by reading out the contents of a memory by an operation mode and changing a writing method. CONSTITUTION: A reader part 1 is a picture input device functioned as a 1st picture input means and capable of processing an original and converting the processed original into picture data. A printer part 2 is a picture output device having plural kinds of recording paper casettes to be functioned as a picture output means and capable of outputting picture data on recording paper as a visual image by a printing instruction. A device controller 3 is electrically connected to the reader part 1, functioned as a 2nd picture input means and allowed to change a memory access method at the time of storing picture data in accordance with an operation mode. Since the writing speed in the memory is slow but the reading speed is increased, the output speed at the time of recording plural originals can be accelerated.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image storage device for storing image data of a plurality of pages input from an input device and outputting the image data to an output device sequentially or in a different page order. The present invention relates to a method for improving the speed of, and particularly to an effective method when inputting a plurality of types of image data and outputting a plurality of pages.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a system for storing image data from an input device and outputting it to an output device, for example, FIG.
The one shown in 9 is known.

This system uses, as an input device, a network I / F 10 for inputting character data (bitmap data) from a computer (not shown) via a local area network (LAN) 14 constructed by laying an optical cable or the like. Have. The input character data is
It is sent to the image storage device 12 described later through the data bus 15.

Another input device has an image processing function 11 for reading an original with a scanner and performing image processing. Here, the image-processed image data is sent to the image storage device 12 via the data bus 16. In the image storage device 12, the network I / F 10 and the image processing function 1
The image data sent from the first input device is stored in the internal memory, and is output with the storage order or page order changed.

Next, the output image data is sent to the recording device 13 through the data bus 17 and output as a hard copy.

In such a system, it is desired to support a plurality of connected input devices having different input speeds and to output to a recording device at high speed.

[0007]

However, when the image storage device is constructed by using the memory access mode corresponding to the input speed of the image data, even if the recording speed of the recording device is high, the system is operated at the speed of the input device. There was a drawback that the overall performance was fixed.

In particular, when the input order and the output order of the image data are different, the read addresses of the memory are not continuous, so that they appear remarkably.

An object of the present invention is to provide an image recording apparatus capable of increasing the output speed when recording a plurality of originals.

[0010]

According to the present invention, by changing the memory access method for storing image data according to the operation mode, the writing speed to the memory is slow, but the reading speed is low. Therefore, the output speed can be increased when recording a plurality of originals.

[0011]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a system including an image storage device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In the figure, a reader unit 1 is an image input device that functions as a first image input unit and processes a document and converts it into image data. The printer unit 2 is an image output device that has a plurality of types of recording paper cassettes that function as an image output unit and that outputs image data as a visible image on the recording paper in response to a print command.

The device controller device 3 is electrically connected to the reader unit 1 and has the following various elements that function as second image input means. That is, the device control device 3 includes a facsimile unit 4, a file unit 5, an external storage device 6 connected to the file unit 5, a computer interface unit 7 for connecting to a computer via a LAN, and a computer interface unit for connecting to the computer. A formatter unit 8 for converting information into a visible image, an image memory unit 9 for accumulating information from the reader unit 1 or temporarily storing information sent from a computer, and the above-described functional processing. The core unit 10 for controlling the

Further, CONT1 is a reader control unit for controlling the reader unit 1, and CONT2 is a printer control unit for controlling the printer unit 2. These are configured to be communicable with the core unit 10 of the device control device 3, and include a CPU, ROM, RAM and the like.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view for explaining the construction of the reader unit 1 and the printer unit 2 shown in FIG. The configuration and operation will be described below.

The originals stacked on the original feeding device 101 are sequentially conveyed one by one onto the original table glass surface 102. When the document is conveyed to a predetermined position on the glass surface 102, the lamp 103 of the scanner unit is turned on and the scanner unit 104 moves to irradiate the document. The reflected light of the document is reflected by the mirrors 105, 106, 107 and the lens 10.
8. Color separation by RGB filter not shown,
It is input to the CCD image sensor 109 (hereinafter referred to as CCD). The reflected light or transmitted light of the document with which the CCD 109 is irradiated is photoelectrically converted here. The converted electric signal is sent to the image processing unit 110.

Further, the image processing section 110 carries out image processing set by various operation sections. The image processing unit 1
The external switching circuit 10 includes a selector (not shown) that switches the signal from the reader unit 1 to the printer unit 2 or the device control device 3, and the signal from the reader unit 1 and the signal from the device control device 3 are provided. It also has a function of selecting one of them and connecting to the image storage device 12, which will be described later.

The image storage device 12 stores the image data and outputs the data to the printer unit 2. Then, the electric signal output from the image storage device 12 and connected to the printer unit 2 is converted into an optical signal modulated by the exposure control unit 201 and irradiates the photoconductor 202. The latent image formed on the photoconductor 202 by the irradiation light is developed by the developing device 203.

The transfer paper is conveyed from the transfer paper stacking unit 204 or the transfer paper stacking unit 205 in time with the leading edge of the latent image, and the developed image is transferred to the transfer unit 206. The transferred image is fixed on the transfer paper by the fixing unit 207 and then discharged from the paper output unit 208 to the outside of the apparatus.

Next, when the image data is recorded on both sides of the transfer paper, the operation is as follows.

First, the transfer sheet having one side recorded and having passed through the fixing section 207 has its paper path changed by the paper path changing member 209, and is sent downward in the drawing to be stacked on the double-sided path 210.

After that, the sheet is conveyed again, the opposite surface is transferred, passes through the fixing section 207, and is discharged from the sheet discharging section 208 to the outside of the apparatus.

As shown in FIG. 1, the device control apparatus 3 is connected to the reader section 1 by a cable, and the core section 10 in the device controller apparatus 3 controls signals and functions. In the device controller device 3, a facsimile unit 4 for performing facsimile transmission / reception, a file unit 5 for converting various document information into electric signals and storing the signals on a magneto-optical disk, and a formatter unit 8 for developing code information from a computer into image information. , A computer interface section 7 for interfacing with a LAN and a computer, an image memory section 9 for accumulating information from the reader section 1 or temporarily accumulating information sent from the computer, and controlling the above functions. It has the core part 10 which does.

The core unit 10 includes function boards and commands / commands.
Controls the whole by exchanging status information. The operation is performed in response to a command input from the computer to the external device via the LAN.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the internal structure of the image processing section 110.

As shown, the image processing unit 110 is
A / D converter 30, black correction / white correction unit 31, ND signal generation unit 32, color detection unit 33, scaling unit 34, image processing unit 35, density correction unit 36, marker region It has a detection unit 37 and a histogram creation unit 38, and performs the following processing operations.

First, the image signal input from the CCD image sensor 109 is converted into a digital signal (8 bits) by the A / D converter 30.

Subsequently, after black level correction and white level correction (shading correction) have been performed by the black correction / white correction unit 31, the ND signal generation unit 32 and the color detection unit 33 perform R correction.
Each signal of GB is input.

In the ND signal generator 32, the RGB signals are added and divided into 1/3, and the luminance signal D _OUT is output.

D _out = (R _in + G _in + B _in ) / 3 Note that this is an ideal case, and RGB is actually multiplied by each coefficient and added.

The color detection unit 33 outputs a 3-bit color signal C _out classified into, for example, red, green, blue, line markers pink, yellow, die dye, white, and black according to the RGB signal ratio. .

The luminance signal D _OUT and the color signal C _out are subjected to scaling in the main scanning direction (CCD line direction) or image moving processing in the scaling section 34, and are input to the image processing section 35. In the image processing unit 35, patterning processing for converting the color information into a pattern of a single color, masking, trimming, black-and-white inversion, etc. are performed in the image processing unit 35.

Then, the density correction unit 36 performs brightness-density conversion and density correction in the printer, and sends the result to the printer unit 2. The luminance signal D _OUT and the color signal C _out respectively output from the ND signal generation unit 32 and the color detection unit 33 are
It is input to the histogram creation unit 38 and a histogram is created. Color signal information is added to this histogram as needed.

The color signal C _out is detected by the marker area detecting section 37 as a signal of the area designated by the marker on the original to obtain the marker area, and is sent to the image processing section 35 as a processing area signal. Then, processing such as black and white reversal of the inside and outside of the area and shading is executed.

4 to 9 are flow charts showing an example of each functional processing procedure in the system of this embodiment.

First, in the flowchart of FIG. 4, the operation mode selection key is displayed on the display portion of the operation panel (not shown), and the panel above the selection key is touched to select the mode (S1). It is determined whether or not the selected mode is the copy mode (S2), and if it is the copy mode, the process proceeds to S11 of FIG.

On the other hand, if it is determined in S2 that the copy mode is not selected, it is determined whether or not the facsimile transmission mode is selected (S3). The process proceeds to S21 shown.

On the other hand, if it is determined in S3 that the facsimile transmission mode is not selected, it is determined whether the file mode is selected (S4). In the file mode, S31 shown in FIG. Move to.

On the other hand, if it is determined in S4 that the file mode is not selected, it is determined whether the input mode from the computer interface section 7 is selected (S5), and the input mode is selected. If so, the process proceeds to S41 shown in FIG.

On the other hand, if it is determined in S5 that the input mode is not selected, it is determined whether the facsimile reception mode is selected (S6), and if the facsimile reception mode is selected. Then, the process proceeds to S51 shown in FIG.

On the other hand, if the facsimile reception mode is not selected in the determination in S6, the process returns to S2 and the same processing is repeated.

Next, when the copy mode is selected in S2 of FIG. 4 as described above, the operation shown in FIG. 5 is started,
First, the initial setting of the copy operation is performed (S11), the keys input from the operation panel are read, the copy conditions are set (S12), and the input of the start key 303 is waited for (S12).
13).

Next, when the start key is pressed, the reader unit 1 reads the document (S14), and the printer unit 2 performs the above-mentioned printing process (S15). When the printing is completed, the process returns to S1 of FIG. 4 for the initial setting.

Next, when the facsimile transmission mode is selected in S3 of FIG. 4 as described above, the operation shown in FIG. 6 is started, and the initial setting of facsimile transmission is performed (S21). The keys input from the operation panel are read, the facsimile transmission conditions are set (S22), and the input of the start key is waited (S23).

When the start key is pressed, the document is read by the reader unit 1 (S24) and the image data is sent to the facsimile unit 4. The facsimile unit 4 performs facsimile transmission according to the set format and the determined protocol (S25), and after the transmission is completed, the process returns to S1 in FIG.

Next, when the file mode is selected in S4 of FIG. 4 as described above, the operation shown in FIG. 7 is started, and the file operation is initially set (S3).
1). A mode selection of file storage or file search is displayed on the operation panel, and a key input from the operator is awaited (S32).

Next, when the memory key is selected,
The storage condition is set (S33), the document is read from the reader unit 1 (S34), the data is sent to the file unit 5, and stored in the external storage device 6 of the file unit 5 (S35).

On the other hand, when the file search key is selected in S32, the search condition is set (S36), the file is searched from the external storage device 6 (S37), and the result is output (S38). ). Then, after the file recording or the file search is completed, the process returns to S1 of FIG. 4 for initial setting.

Further, as described above, when the command data is input from the outside in the determination of S5 of FIG. 4, the operation shown in FIG. 8 is started, and first, the command is accepted by the computer interface unit 7 (S41). ), The data is sent to the format unit 8 via the core unit 10 for interpretation, and the information is expanded on the bitmap memory (S42).

Next, in S43, it is determined whether or not the printer unit 2 is in operation, and the operation is waited until the operation is completed. When the operation is completed, an appropriate paper is selected and paper feeding is started ( S44). As a result, the paper is fed from the transfer paper stacking units (paper cassettes) 204 and 205, and the transfer unit 206
Go to Here, the image developed in the bit map memory in the process of S42 is rotated and read based on the information such as the orientation and size of the paper.

The read image is read by the exposure controller 20.
1 to perform the above-mentioned print processing and read it. The read image information is sent to the exposure control unit 201, the above-described printing process is performed (S45), after printing is completed, and after data output, the process returns to S1 of FIG. 4 for initialization.

Next, when the facsimile reception mode is selected in S6 of FIG. 4 as described above, the operation of FIG. 9 is started, and first, facsimile reception is performed (S51) and the printer unit 2 is in operation. It is determined whether or not (S52). If the printer unit 2 is not in operation, the received data is printed by the printer unit 2 (S53). If the printer unit 2 is in operation, the received data is stored in the hard disk (S54), the operation of the printer unit 2 is awaited, and when the operation is completed (S52), the received data is printed by the printer unit 2 (S53). .

FIG. 10 shows an internal circuit of the image storage device 12.

The compression processing unit 40 is for compressing the input image data, and the memory control unit 41 is for controlling the writing and reading of data to and from the image memory 42 described later.

The image memory 42 is a memory for storing the image data compressed by the compression processing section 40, and the decompression processing section 43 is for decompressing the compressed data stored in the image memory 42.

The storage control unit 44 controls the operation of each process according to a command from a control unit (not shown) that controls the entire system. The storage control unit 44 and other processing units are connected via a command bus 45.

Further, the memory control unit 41 and the image memory 42
Are connected via a memory control signal 46 and a data bus 47. The input image data is data-compressed by the compression processing unit 40 and is written in a predetermined address of the image memory 42 by the memory control unit 41.

The stored image data is read in a page order according to the operation mode of the system at a predetermined timing, decompressed by the decompression processing unit 43, and sent to the recording device.

Next, FIGS. 11 to 14 explain the operation in the so-called pamphlet mode in which, for example, an A4 size original is copied onto both sides of an A3 size transfer paper. The operation of this embodiment will be described below.

In FIG. 11, first from the input device 1,
Image data is input in the order of 2, 3, ... In the figure, A, B, C, ..., H indicate the contents of data.

FIG. 12 shows the relationship between the front surface and the back surface when recording on an A3 size transfer sheet.

On the surface, data A and H are recorded on one transfer sheet, and data C and F are recorded on the second transfer sheet. On the back side, B and G data are recorded on 3 (back side of 1), and 4 (back side of 2),
Data of D and E will be recorded.

Finally, as shown in FIG. 13, the output transfer sheet is bound in the center to form a pamphlet.

FIG. 14 explains the address control of the image memory 42 in this operation mode.

In the image memory 42, the divided blocks have a memory capacity of one page of image data, and the memory controller 41 manages the memory in this unit. Further, in FIG. 14, the numbers on the left side are numbers showing the writing order of the memory, and each number corresponds to the number showing the input order of the image data in FIG. 11.

As shown in the figure, the order of writing to the memory 42 is changed depending on the order of reading. Then, at the time of reading, the reading is performed in order of memory addresses.

Next, another operation mode will be described with reference to FIGS.

The examples shown in FIGS. 15 and 16 are the same as those shown in FIG.
1 is an operation mode for recording image data input on one side on both sides.

FIG. 15 shows the relationship between the front surface and the back surface, and the numbers in the drawing show the order of output from the memory.

On the front surface, the data A is recorded on the first transfer sheet, and the data C is recorded on the second transfer sheet. Similarly, on the back side, for 7 (the back side of the transfer paper 2),
The data of D is recorded, and the data of B is recorded on 8 (the back side of the transfer paper 1).

FIG. 16 shows addresses of the memory in this operation mode, and the order of memory writing changes according to the order of output. Each number corresponds to the number in the input order of the image data in FIG. When the memory is read, the memory addresses are read in order.

17 and 18 are time charts showing the memory timing in the operation mode when a dynamic memory is used as the image memory 42.

FIG. 17 shows the timing at the time of random writing to an arbitrary address of the memory. Whenever the memory address changes, the RAS and CAS signals are given and R
The AS address and CAS address are given. In this case, the writing cycle becomes longer to some extent.

Further, FIG. 18 shows the timing at the time of reading the memory, in which CAS is performed once for the RAS signal.
It outputs a signal multiple times, and RA
The S address is output once and the CAS address is output multiple times.

At this timing, the read cycle is shorter than that of the random access timing shown in FIG. 17, so that high-speed output is possible.

Thus, when inputting and outputting in page order, writing / reading is performed using the memory timing of FIG.

In the case of inputting in page order and outputting pages randomly, by using the memory timing of FIG. 17 for writing and the memory timing of FIG. 18 for reading, the memory addresses are always continuous at the time of output, It is possible to output data at high speed.

In the above embodiments, the minimum unit of a block of memory addresses is one page of image data, but the same processing can be performed in a unit smaller than this.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the dynamic memory is taken as an example of the storage memory for explanation, but the same processing can be performed with other storage media such as a hard disk and a static memory.

Further, as the input device, the image data read by the scanner has been described as an example.
Similar processing can be performed by other input devices such as a facsimile.

[0081]

As described above, according to the present invention,
By changing the reading and writing methods of the memory depending on the operation mode, it is possible to output to the recording device at high speed even if the image storage device is connected with input devices of different speeds.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of the above embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an image processing unit of the above embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a mode selection operation of the above embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation at the time of the copy function of the above embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing the operation of the facsimile transmission function of the above embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an operation at the time of the file function of the above embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an operation at the time of the external input function of the above embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an operation at the facsimile reception function of the above embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the image storage device of the above embodiment.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing the order of input image data in the above embodiment.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing a transfer sequence in the pamphlet mode of the above-described embodiment.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing a final output result in the brochure mode of the above embodiment.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a memory address in the brochure mode of the above embodiment.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing a transfer sequence when a single-sided original is recorded on both sides in the above embodiment.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram showing a memory address configuration when a single-sided original is recorded on both sides in the above-described embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a timing chart showing write timing in a dynamic memory.

FIG. 18 is a timing chart showing the read timing in the dynamic memory.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram showing an example of a conventional system configuration.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Reader part, 2 ... Printer part, 3 ... Device controller device, 4 ... Facsimile part, 5 ... File part, 6 ... External storage device, 7 ... Computer interface part, 8 ... Formatter part, 9 ... Image memory part, 10 … Core part.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── (72) Inventor Hiroyuki Yaguchi 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Hideaki Shimizu 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. Incorporated (72) Inventor Yasuhiro Takiyama 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An image storage device for storing image data from an input unit and sending the same to an output unit, wherein the memory access method for storing the image data is changed depending on the operation mode. 2. The image storage device according to claim 1, wherein the operation mode is a page sequential access mode or a page random access mode.